The Lake

There's a place in Wilmington you've almost certainly walked, jogged, or paddled around — and most people have no idea what they're really standing on.Before it became one of the most beloved green spaces in the city, it was a rice plantation worked by enslaved people. Over the years it's been a millpond, an amusement park, a small-town zoo, and the backdrop for one very wild night involving a runaway circus elephant. And that scenic five-mile road you love so much? It was built by men in chains during the Great Depression.In this episode, I dig into the layered, unfiltered history of Greenfield Lake — the beauty of it and the weight of it — and why this old millpond just might be the reason Wilmington still has a soul.